Snow Day Soup and Life-Changing Loaf of Bread

Nothing like 9 inches of new snow overnight to bring the pace of life to a grinding halt.  Snow day!  After a brisk round of snowshoeing, for me that meant raiding the fridge, pantry and freezer for some slow cooking inspiration.

A ham bone sat in my fridge after the holidays awaiting a transformation into a steaming and hearty pot of split pea soup.  Pea soup is another staple of French-Canadian cooking, and although there are dozens of ways to make it, this version has carrots, celery and thyme in it.  Today was a perfect day for soup-making!

French-Canadian Soupe aux pois-Pea Soup

• Servings: 8
• Print

Ingredients:

 1 ham bone

1 16 oz bag of split peas

2 carrots, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups of water or enough to cover the ham bone

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a soup pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.  Discard bay leaves.  Remove ham bone, let cool, then dice all meat and return to pot.  Makes 8 cups.

What best to go with a warm bowl of soup than a slice of homemade bread?  At a time of year when resolutions are made to eat healthier, this bread is the ticket to having your bread and eating it too!  Low carb, gluten-free, loaded with healthy seeds and nuts, an excellent source of protein and fiber, this recipe caught my attention last summer when I read an essay on it, titled:  Life-Changing Bread.  Link for the article to follow.  I just happened to have all the needed ingredients in the pantry.  Psyllium seed husks are the binder in this flour-free bread.  All the seeds can be found in health food stores, Wegmans, Whole Foods or online.  Once you have them, it will be easy to make this recipe over and over.  The bread can be frozen.  It makes the best toast ever!  It is perfect with jam as a snack or we love it with mustard and thinly sliced turkey as an open-faced, European style sandwich.  I have seen this bread referred to as German Health Bread, although my German friend Michele does not recall eating it in Germany.  Whatever you call it, it is a healthy, hearty bread and for this post, was served alongside the pea soup.

The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread

• Servings: 1 loaf
• Print

 

Ingredients:

1 c sunflower seeds

½ c flax seeds(or 3 T ground flax seeds)

½ c whole almonds, chopped roughly or hazelnuts

1 ½ c rolled oats

2 T chia seeds

4 T psyllium seed husks

1 t sea salt

1 T maple syrup(can substitute honey)

3 T melted coconut oil or ghee

1 ½ c water

 Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 F.  In a loaf pan combine all dry ingredients, stirring well.  Whish maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup and add this to the dry ingredients, mixing well.  Smooth the top with the back of a spoon.  Let sit out on the counter for 2 hours or overnight.  Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove bread from the loaf pan and place directly onto the rack upside down and bake for another 30-40 minutes.  This will be easier to do if you use a silicon loaf pan.  I skipped this step.  Bread is done when it sound hollow when tapped.  Let cool completely before slicing, hard to do! Can be stored for up to 5 days.  Freezes well-slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!  Recipe courtesy of My New Roots Blog

Click here to view the article

At a recent lunch with Prince Charming at our favorite restaurant, Fork, in Philly, we had a tangy delicious “butter” with our bread.  I tried recreating it here.  Mix 3 T cream cheese with 1 T butter and sprinkle with sea salt.  Add this to the homemade bread and your taste buds will thank you!

Soups’ On.  Dig in!